Aviatyrannis

The known fossil remains of Aviatyrannis (gray)

• Portugal ( Alobaca Formation)

• Aviatyrannis Jurassica

Aviatyrannis is a genus of European theropod dinosaurs ( theropods ) which will be provided to Tyrannosauroidea. He lived in the Upper Jurassic ( Kimmeridgian ) of Portugal. So far, only the type species Aviatyrannis Jurassica described. It was a small, bipedal predators.

Aviatyrannis is known only from teeth and parts of the basin, which were found in the Alobaca - formation whose rocks are cut by the now disused and flooded coal mine Guimarota. His fragmentary remains nevertheless show clearly that Aviatyrannis one of the Tyrannosauroidea. Together with Stokesosaurus from the North American Morrison Formation counts the genus of the oldest known Tyrannosauroiden, only guanlong from China was a little older. The best known representative of this group is certainly Tyrannosaurus rex, the much later, at the outlet of Upper Cretaceous lived, and was greater by a multiple.

The ilium ( ilium ), a part of the pelvis bone was only 90 millimeters long. Together with the few other Jurassic finds this group shows Aviatyrannis that early tyrannosaurs were small animals yet and only their Cretaceous relatives reached a huge body size.

Described Scientific Aviatyrannis Jurassica 2003 by the German paleontologist Oliver Rauhut. The name means " Jurassic grandmother tyrant " in reference to the relationship with Tyrannosaurus.